Struggling to keep to budget

Riggy

Riggy

Riggy

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1 Mar 2010
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290
Location
UK
I've been playing around with different builds for a while now and for the type of build I want/need, I'm struggling to keep to my ideal £500 mark. I don't really have a top budget, but the less it costs the sooner I get it. I want the build to last me at least 2/3 years with upgrade capabilities e.g. new CPU (i7), SLi/CrossfireX etc

My main use is, is high setting gaming, watching Blu-rays, surfing the net, I'll also have a dual monitor set up.
I've already got my PSU, GPU, Monitor's and Optical drives.

This is what I've come up with so far:

Intel Core i5 750 2.66GHz (Lynnfield) (Socket LGA1156) - Retail @ £156.99

OCZ Gold 6GB (3x2GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 Low-Voltage Triple Channel (OCZ3G1333LV6GK) - £128.98

Gigabyte GA-P55-UD5 Intel P55 (Socket 1156) DDR3 Motherboard @ £114.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium - Retail (Full Version) @ £92.99

Fractal Design Define R2 Midi Tower Case - Black Pearl @ £84.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB SATA-II 32MB Cache - OEM (ST31000528AS) @ £55.99

Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro Rev 2 CPU Cooler (Socket 939 / AM2 / AM3 / 775 / 1156 / 1366) @ £18.99

Total: £653.91

That would be my ideal set up, but it seems some of you can put together some nice builds that has got some good bang for buck.

Please beat my attempt :)
 
It is unrealistic to think that you can get a i7 build plus a copy of Window 7 for a budget of £500 (£500 would get you the i7 920, memory, motherboard and CPU cooler, but not the Window 7), even with no needing to get PSU, optical drive, graphic card and monitor.

The best possible build you can get for closest to the £500 budget is that can Crossfire (no SLI) is probably this:
phenomiix4955be.jpg


i5 750 with Crossfire/SLI would cost a bit more:
i57503.jpg
 
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I'm not looking for an i7 build, I want an i5 build now, just want the capability to change to i7 in the future like. What's AMD's stance on the socket type with any new chips in the future?

I know that the 500 mark for an i5 build is unrealistic too really with an OS, but obviously there is reality which I have to deal with also. Like I said, the £500 isn't set in stone, but the closer the better :)

Thanks for the input though mon, much appreciated.
 
Riggy said:
I'm not looking for an i7 build, I want an i5 build now, just want the capability to change to i7 in the future like. What's AMD's stance on the socket type with any new chips in the future?
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The AMD 770/790 chipset board would be decent for Phenom II x2 and x4, where as the AMD 870/890 chipset board would be decent for Phenom II x2 x4 X6 and have USB3.0 and 6GB/s SATA.

The AMD Bullozor (release in 2011) are said to be socket AM3, so it would be "compatable" with the current range of boards. However, I'm pretty convinced if anyone want to get some serious overclocking done on the AMD Bullozor, they would most likely need new motherboards that are released around the same time as the AMD Bullozor, probably with a chipset "970 or 990" or something like that.
 
Marine-RX179 said:
The AMD 770/790 chipset board would be decent for Phenom II x2 and x4, where as the AMD 870/890 chipset board would be decent for Phenom II x2 x4 X6 and have USB3.0 and 6GB/s SATA.

The AMD Bullozor (release in 2011) are said to be socket AM3, so it would be "compatable" with the current range of boards. However, I'm pretty convinced if anyone want to get some serious overclocking done on the AMD Bullozor, they would most likely need new motherboards that are released around the same time as the AMD Bullozor, probably with a chipset "970 or 990" or something like that.
Click to expand...

I'm a novice when it comes to overclocking anyway ;) I just like the idea of the options being open to me because I may wanna dabble, but like you said, I might have get a new mobo if I was to go for overclocking. Thanks for the info mate. I'll hold for any final builds until I actually have the money first I think. The prices fluctuate too much. Well at last I have an 'ish' figure for the build I'm looking for.

Cheers
 
Do bare in mind that AMD Bullozor's being socket AM3 is still pretty much rumours, as things can change between now and actual launch.

Also, if you are not overclocking your CPU, it would most likely hold back any Crossfire/SLI set up and deliver less frame rate for games.
 
Graphics card? you own or will get?

If you got a i5 build now, you would have to change the motherboard and cpu and maybe memory if you wanted i7, unless you buy just a i7 860. 870 or 875 cpu, which will work in the existing 1156 socket motherboard.
 
PhillyDee said:
Nope.
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Just as I thought lol Bloody Licensing! :)

It'll be my own which is in my Sig, not the best but it'll do. Okay, as you can tell I'm not the most clued up guy ever. So If I was to spend 500/600 on an i5 build now, somewhere down the line i'll want to upgrade. I think selling current tech for any new tech I want would be the best option maybe? It'll make things a little cheaper for the build after this.

I like planning ahead ;)
 
Riggy said:
The Vista I do have, is a pre-installed version on a Dell machine. I've got discs but will they work on another system?
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ive had a copy of xp home oem from a fujitsu computer from 2002 that ive used successfully countless times on 3 different pcs (all of these reside in the same household, im not just installing it anywhere...).
 
Riggy said:
The Vista I do have, is a pre-installed version on a Dell machine. I've got discs but will they work on another system?
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If you have the disks and the key then yes you can.

Just install something like xp on the dell, then install vista.

I must have installed xp more than 50times, and my current vista + windows 7 about 15 times each all on different pc's
 
thingemajib said:
ive had a copy of xp home oem from a fujitsu computer from 2002 that ive used successfully countless times on 3 different pcs (all of these reside in the same household, im not just installing it anywhere...).
Click to expand...

crisbduck may be onto something then! I would just have to put up with the system only recognizing 3gb of ram due to it only being a 32bit OS, but I suppose it wouldn't be for long :D
 
Riggy said:
It'll be my own which is in my Sig, not the best but it'll do. Okay, as you can tell I'm not the most clued up guy ever. So If I was to spend 500/600 on an i5 build now, somewhere down the line i'll want to upgrade. I think selling current tech for any new tech I want would be the best option maybe? It'll make things a little cheaper for the build after this.

I like planning ahead ;)
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To be honest, i5 750 is a very good CPU that will keep up with crossfiring a pair of 5870 and beyond if it was overclocked to 4.0GHz. So in theory the i5 750 overclocked to 4.0GHz will last you until average gaming reach the point requiring graphic processing power greater than two 5870 (which is gonna be a long while considering PC gaming is getting hold back by console ports).

If you want USB3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s ports, you might need to consider spending a bit extra and get this motherboard instead:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-226-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1693
(and yes this board support Crossfire/SLI)
 
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Marine-RX179 said:
To be honest, i5 750 is a very good CPU that will keep up with crossfiring a pair of 5870 and beyond if it was overclocked to 4.0GHz. So in theory the i5 750 overclocked to 4.0GHz will last you until average gaming reach the point requiring graphic processing power greater than two 5870 (which is gonna be a long while considering PC gaming is getting hold back by console ports).

If you want USB3.0 and SATA 6Gb/s ports, you might need to consider spending a bit extra and get this motherboard instead:
http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=MB-226-GI&groupid=701&catid=5&subcat=1693
(and yes this board support Crossfire/SLI)
Click to expand...

Well I have wondered about overclocking, but I've never done it, and I'm not attempting it on a dell, as I heard it can be quite hard. I suppose I'm not going to learn if I don't try. I'll do little steps at time at first I suppose and really try not to change voltage settings. See how much I can get out of the i5 at stock voltage.

Then by going on what you've said, it'll last long enough without me having to update the mobo and CPU.
 
Riggy said:
So If I was to spend 500/600 on an i5 build now, somewhere down the line i'll want to upgrade. I think selling current tech for any new tech I want would be the best option maybe? It'll make things a little cheaper for the build after this.

I like planning ahead ;)
Click to expand...

You won't be able to upgrade on the same socket anyway as both of Intels current sockets will be dead next year and replaced with new ones. 1156 (i5) is EOL Q1 2011 followed by 1366 (i7) in Q3.
 
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